Kota Cotton

Take the checkered weave of a Kota saree, the popular pattern since age old times. The delicately wrought checks locally known as khats are generally of pure cotton with golden Zari threads woven in square patterns being a popular variety. Variations in borders and a whole array of bright colours and shades like pink, blue, saffron, orange etc. applied to traditional prints and beautiful embroidery work together create stunning effects that make this fabric sensational. The speciality of the Kota Doria apart from the fineness of the weave lies in the colour usage and combinations.

Block prints and the cotton fabric are made for each other. Finer the cotton weave, better is the outcome of the block printing, because cotton is known for its good adhesion qualities. Kota handloom cotton, an established name in fine cotton fabrics, known for its good texture and the unique checkered pattern appearing in the natural weave, makes for a good fabric to display unique experiments with the hand block.

The Kota Cotton Saree is translucent muslin, much preferred for its light weight, softness and airy comfort. The Kota Cotton Saree is woven in a manner designed to produce check patterns on the fabric. The square shaped checks come within the weave when the warp and the weft are employed in a special combination of cotton threads to form the extremely fine checkered pattern. The standard Kota Doria Saree is woven in white and later dyed in different colours.

The Masuria Silks are grand affairs of pure silk, gold and silver threads of Zari. The Katan Pure Silk Weaves are adorned with beautiful Jaipuri prints, traditional motifs, fancy zari or printed borders, exquisite embroidery work on the pallu, making them an exclusive must-have.

Other worthy creations are the designer Kota Katan Silk Saree richly woven in Meena work and with suitable accompaniments and the Dabu block prints on Stylish Kota Saree.

There are certain distinctive features that stand out in the genuine Kota Doria.

While the whole fabric is soft to touch there are certain points that have a ‘serrated’ feel where the yarns are a bit closer

Being handloom woven on traditional pit looms, the edges of the fabric are slightly uneven and noticeable. This gets compensated by the extraordinarily smooth texture of the woven motifs that do not have loose ends on their back side, making them virtually durable for the lifetime of the fabric.

The initial and subsequent washes of the saree distinguish the real from the spurious. The genuine Kota Doria would have the Khats getting more and more pronounced.

Made by handlooms, a knot here or a loose thread there after a time makes it the genuine stuff.

Initially woven in white, the saree is then dyed and washed separately in different colours one after the other. Where designs are involved you have the threads dyed in vegetable or azoic dyes prior to the weaving.

Woven on a traditional pit loom designed to produce check patterns on the fabric, the square shaped checks or ‘Khats’ are smeared with onion juice and rice paste to make the yarn strong and durable.

Cotton for the Kota Saree once came from Madhya Pradesh while the silk came from Karnataka. Today many other places supply these fabric materials.

Once upon a time these handloom sarees were woven in Mysore. The weavers subsequently migrated and settled in Kota, Rajasthan. Hence the name Kota-Masuria, also. There was a time when weaving was done mostly by women, while the dyeing of threads was taken care of by men. Over time almost everybody in the family got included to contribute their mite in the making of the Kota Doria.

For the sake of economy, weavers take up three Sarees of the same design at a time. The setting-up of the threads is complicated and time-consuming and could take up to a day. More complicated the design, more the time taken for setting-up. It takes close to a week to complete three saris in the basic pattern.

The GI registration under the Geographical Registration Act 1999 has been accorded in 2005 and is based upon this unique character on fabrics made in the geographical region of Kota. The distinct square checks pattern of Kota Doria has been its brand hallmark.

It sure is. Kota Dorias have had a long journey in history up to the present time. It has seen many changes and fashion designers have seen it as a fabric that offers large scope for innovation. Kota Dorias are known for their light hues and vibrant colours that are like the fresh breeze from the desert. With enchanting motifs and mesmerizing floral block prints and the fine use of zari borders, the Kota cottons usher in a new wave of fashion that is attractive and enthralling.

The Kota silks are even more spruced up with dynamic neon hues, enticing fusion patch borders of differing styles like the Chanderi Patch with the Sambalpuri border or the Banarasi patch borders with the Chanderi border on a designer floral spread, that make them highly sought after.

The Kota sarees both in silk and in cotton, are known for their good workmanship and are popular in the market. So many of the big shops in metros, big cities and towns would have these sarees to sell and would feature it on their websites. I know of Unnati Silks, a reputed name in handlooms since 1980, definitely has the Kota Dorias. You get Kota sarees in silk and cotton both in wholesale and in retail at very attractive prices, with door delivery to most places in India.

Not so long back, Unnati Silks conducted an experiment in block prints. Usually the hand block printing is done with fine carved hand blocks made of quality wood. The quality of prints that come out are sharp in the detail, however complex the design may be, if the etching in the bottom surface of the wooden block is done finely. This time round the blocks used have been of finely cut metal with a sieve for colors arrangement. And the results have been astounding.The edges are so distinctly visible and the outlines so sharp on the outside and even within the detailing that it is a feast for the eyes. The arrangement for the colors to be transferred to the fabric has worked extraordinarily well allowing no scope for any sort of color spread or smudging. The use of different colors within a motif, or closely placed design elements of different colors have come out distinct and even. The overall effect is simply awesome to the delight of the wearer and a captivating sight for onlookers.

The Kota handloom cotton weave has been a good choice as a fabric for the special block printing. Block prints when they initially came to be known revolutionized the concept of printing. Easily manoeuvrable, wieldy, precise and a task that did not require too much skill and completed quickly, the process appealed that much more could be achieved by way of this simple technique than by the use of automated processes within the limitations. Very small detailing can be etched and preserved in the block by special provisions. So small stars and very minute designs otherwise not possible, are available for the beautification of the fabric. Flowers, fruits, trees, birds, geometrical designs and figurative patterns are some of the popular motifs in block printed sarees.

When large masses of colour occur in a pattern, the corresponding parts on the block are usually cut in outline, the object being filled in between the outlines with felt, which not only absorbs the colour better, but gives a much more even impression than it is possible to obtain with a large surface of wood. When finished, the block presents the appearance of flat relief carving, the design standing out like letterpress type.

Why don’t you try Unnati Silks which is known for attractive prices both in wholesale and retail? It has tremendous variety. Whether you are thinking of buying latest designer embroidered Kota Doria muslin silk cotton zari sarees of Rajasthan online with competitive price or buying the latest designer and fancy Kota Doria cotton and Kota silk sarees from Rajasthani saree manufacturers and wholesalers, it is all possible at one trusted place, namely Unnati Silks.

For a start you could be online shopping for silk organza with pure zari and tissue wholesale Rajasthan Kota sarees in Jaipur with images and prices to choose from. You could also explore to buy latest plain pure soft tissue kota silk sarees with plain mirror work checking images and price in manufacturers facebook page when wholesale online shopping. You could also be shopping online for Banarasi pure zari, Kora silk and Jaipur Kota silk sarees. Further you could check out for buying printed designer Kota silk and silk cotton sarees wholesale online shopping from popular websites in India.

Online shopping is a delightful experience since you have the entire collection with images and price before you, can take your time to select, get your shopping cart delivered to your doorstep with easy and varied payment options.

Definitely you would be able to, since Kota sarees are famous all over India and even overseas. While you would get variety in these cities, wholesale pricing would be so attractive. You could try to buy the latest Kota silk and plain silk cotton designer sarees with Kalamkari with attractive wholesale prices at the Unnati Silks stores in Hyderabad.

If you were to buy a variety of Rajasthan floral designer Kota tissue silk & Kota silk cotton Kalamkari embroidered sarees, with zari border and mirror work embroidery, wholesale, you would get a diverse collection of attractive sarees to purchase from at very cheap prices.